Spring dampener or cushion



Oct. 3, 1933. .1. L. SJOLANDER SPRING DAMPENER OR CUSHION Filed Nov. 25, 1932 ll lllllllillb.

Patented Oct. 3, 1933 7 ,SPRING DAMPENER on cushion f John L. siolancleryfileveland, Ohio; assignor to The: Cleveland Wire Spring "flo clevelandy Application Novemben 25i1932 I Serial No. 6%,28Ii v 5 Claims. it v This invention relates to spring dampeners or cushions and has for its general object to provide effective means for diminishing the vibrations of and eliminating the surge from coil springs, and more particularly the coil springs for intake and exhaust valves of present day high speed internal combustion engines, wherein the valve oscillations are very rapid.

The invention consists, generally speaking, of a substantially fiat spiral member adapted to engage, or be engaged by, the valve spring with retarding ordampening frictional effect, thus insuringproper seating of the valve and the elimination of valve floating, and consequent highly objectionable noise and wear producing hammermg. i

In the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

Figure 1 is a side View of the invention mount- Figure 3 is a view similar; to Figure 2, the spring being shown under compression;

Figure 4 is a side view of the dampener;

Figure 5 is a side view of the coil spring;

Figures 6, "land 8 are side views of modified forms of the invention. Y

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 through 5 of the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated 1 denotes a coiled valve spring for the inlet or exhaust valve 2 of internal combustion engines or the like, which valve isshown mounted in a conventional manner in the engine block 3.

The spring 1, which is preferably made of heavy wire spring stock, is sleeved over the valve stem 4 and bushing 5, and is confined between the seat 6 in the block 3 and a plate 7, in turn fixed to the valve stemin any suitable manner. Plate 7 is preferably formed with an upwardly projecting truncated conical portion which seats within the lower convolutions of the springand prevents lateral or sidewise movement of the latter.

Spring 1 is preferably slightly conical, that is the diameters of its convolutions gradually decrease from the base or bottom to the top thereof. Due to the relatively high speeds at which modern, engines are run, considerable difficulty has been encountered'in designing valve springs which would eliminate floating and insure a proper seating of the valves. According to the present invention this is accomplished by providing a preferably conical dampening member 8, which is tightly sleeved over the upper or smaller end of thespring 1. Member 8 is preferably made of thick and substantially broad spring material to afford a large frictional contacting surface with the spring 1, and the sheet material from which dampener, 8 is made, is preferably of a width capable of spanning two convolutions of 1 spring 1. In other words this width is somewhat greater than that of the space between the convolutions of the spring. It should also, be noted that the convolutions of member 8 are slightly bowed inwardly so that when spring 1 is compressed the convolutions of the latterwill ride'up over the bellied intermediate portions 9 of the dampener and conversely when the spring is extended will ride down over these portions with gradually increasing frictional efiect. Moreover this bowed construction prevents the side edges 10 of the dampenerfrom cutting the spring.

The dampener 8, which is preferably mounted upon the upper end of the spring 1, that portion subject to the greatest surging action, is prevented from dropping down towards the base of the convolutions of the dampener. The dampener is thus always held in position on that portion of the spring subject to the greatest vibrational and surging stress. Both the spring and dampener are always held with their upper ends tightly against the engine block when assembled on the valve stem.

In Figure 6, the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive is reversed, that is the coil spring 1 is tapered upwardly and the dampener 8, which is tapered downwardly is inserted within the upper end of the spring. The action is substantially the same in both instances.

I For some purposes,.a straight coil and dampener is employed as distinguished from the conical spring and dampener shown in Figures 1, through 5, but with such a construction it will of course be necessary to provide auxiliary means to prevent the dampener from dropping, such as by bendingthe top corner edge 11 of the damp-' ener inwardly over the top coil of the spring as shown in Figure '7. Where a straight dampener is employed on the inside of a straight spring, as shown in Figure 8, the corner edge 11 will be bent outwardly over the top coil of the spring, and the cross sectional curvature of the dampener 'reversed, that is bellied outwardly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as my invention is: 1. Ina spring dampener; the combination with a coil spring, of a coiled dampener member'of resilient material frictionally engaging one end portion only of said spring, said member being held against independant longitudinal movement on said spring. 2. In a spring dampener, the combination with a coil spring, of a coiled dampener'member of spring sheet material frictionally engaging said spring, said member being held against independent longitudinal movement on said spring.

3. In a spring dampener, the combination with a coil spring, of a coiled dampener member of sheet metal of less thickness than the thickness of the coil spring, said dampener being in frictional engagement with said coil spring, and being held against independent longitudinal movement on said spring. I

4. A spring dampener according to claim 2, in which the dampener member is of slightly cross sectional curvature.

5. In a spring dampener the combination with a conically shaped coil spring, of a comically shaped coiled dampener member of resilient material snugly engaging said spring, said member being held against independent longitudinal movement on said spring.

JOHN L. SJOLANDER. 

